My darling husband, several years ago, got me the impressive Rhino box set “The Remains of Tom Lehrer”, containing just about every song the gifted parodist/mathematician did on 3 CDs along with a hardcover lyric/notes book.

Like most impressive Rhino box sets, it is now out of print. However, the individual albums are still available (and often at very reasonable prices), such as 1965’s That Was the Year That Was, from which this track comes. I’m astounded that satire written over 40 years ago can still be so fresh and funny (and boy, that’s what I needed to listen to this week, hilarious skewering of sacred cows). Take, for example, the pro-porn march Smut, which begins, after a spoken-word intro,

6 Responses to “Tom Lehrer’s Smut”

Big, BIG fan of the good Professor…as is my son. Which can lead to problems, such as trying to explain “I got it from Agnes” to a seven-year-old. Too bad the box set is out of print, but as you say, the source material is readily (and cheaply) available.

(OK, technically he’s not a professor because he never finished his Ph.D., but still….)

Hm…I thought I read somewhere that he never made full Professor at UCSC because of his lack of degree. But now I can’t find a credible link to the fact, so consider my parenthetical statement withdrawn.

Thank you for posting this. Somewhere I have a cherished copy of two Lehrer albums on cassette (recorded for me by my late aunt); but not having a tape player, I’ve not heard them in years. It was fantastic to hear that again.